Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Angel shakes her head.

She recalls exactly how it was she escaped the Grip.

...

"So... is there... a problem?", she said, under investigation by several sith. One of them was on the floor convulsing.

They all exchanged glances.

Only a few minutes later, they had thrown her out of the nearest airlock, practically praying she wouldn't take offense.

"It was... to ask you a question, actually."

She pauses.

"What is it that you are looking for? Is it power? companionship? money? I... want to know, what is it that drives you forwards. And I want to know... what it is you're most afraid of."

She shakes her head. "You don't have to say anything, if you don't wish to. I'm just... trying to figure something out. Something very important. Something I can't quite say."

Edited by Whoma on Oct 11th 2021 at 9:55:09 AM

The laser pierces through and decimates almost the entirety of the ships above it, creating countless explosions that build on each other forming a massive super-heated cloud of flame gas and metal debris. This doesn't stop Laxin and his boarding party though, the ships disappearing into the chaos and reappearing moments later.

Each of them landed on the barren surface, their ships completely unscathed by the chaos above. Much like his fleet, Laxin did not bring his standard grunts and infantry. The first to exit from each of the four transport ships is a group of HK◊ units. They quickly spread out, taking hold of their position.

Heavy Infantry◊ follow the HK units, dozens of soldiers raising their blasters and carefully observing the ship's hull beneath them.

Laxin's ship lowers its exit ramp, and the Dark Lord exits. With a hasty run-walk, he gets to a central point between all the ships and looks down at the hull of the Yamato. He is about to tear a hole straight through the hull until an entire half of the Terminus destroyer that was once above them comes barreling through the carnage above.

Without even bothering to look up at it, the half ship's descent is brought to a swift halt. Floating a hundred meters above the group, it begins to rise into the air, slowly. The ship is still incomplete flames, chunks of debris begin to fall toward the ground, varying in size.

Each individual piece is stopped, no doubt by Laxin, and is all thrown back to the fractured ship. The ship's metal creaks, as Laxin, with a wave of his hand, sends everything flying far away from the battle. Laxin takes a deep breath, as chunks of his ships that had once been above begin falling down toward his boarding party.

With a dismissive grunt, he looks up and shoots his hand outward. The chunks and flames above begin to slowly coalesce together, tightly forming around eachother. It is a slow process, but for now it prevents any damage to Laxin's men, and it allows the crew of the Yamato to stall Laxin's entrance.

"Fair cop. A lot of people say it sucks to die. Personally don't see the problem for me, but I guess I don't feel pain. THAT's probably what gets a lot of people in a tizzy."

He gives a thumbs up to Andi's display of gumption and drive. Lotta worth to place on one person!

Faith comes sprinting out from the battleship's central tower. Running and jumping along the backs of the main cannons, she delivers a jumping kick to a cannon that is about to fire, reorienting it to point directly at the ball of molten destruction Laxin is forming. The triple lasers blast the meteor-in-progress to disrupt its formation and buy a bit of extra time.

Kate - Mirror's Edge

It appears she's borrowed Samus's Zero Suit jet boots for extra kicking force and jump distance. From the cannon, she jumps down at one of the HK droids, attempting to get her legs around its head and then decapitate it with a backflip.

Space Battleship Yamato, Outer Deck

B-Zoner also emerges at a sprint, wielding his shovel. Wait, no... that's a different, fancier shovel.

"..."

Not quite having the movement abilities of Faith to do all that fancy jazz, he just charges on forwards, charging up energy for a good swing should an enemy be within reach.

Edited by Rbade on Oct 11th 2021 at 10:24:07 AM

Ben raises an eyebrow at Angel's question, having not expected her to ask him something personal.

"There are... more than a few things I want. Among other things, I want to stop the Sith from running roughshod and wreaking havoc on the galaxy like any Jedi would, and to help Aqua recover from everything she went through before Terra and I managed to save her from the darkness," he replies. "As for what I fear most... Laxin."

"Yeah it's about the pain. And the sensation of drifting out of consciousness knowing that if you do you will never wake up or see anyone you love ever again. I died once. It was. Horrible. I don't want to do it again."

Andi shakes her head. "So I won't. It shouldn't be too hard I have done a pretty good job of it so far."

Nebby places their head on top of Andi's to express sympathy. Nebby is, however, very heavy and slightly obscenely strong, so Andi is a little shaken by this- in a literal, painful sense, it is emotionally comforting after the initial shock.

Lillie looks at Ochimo. "Pain is... not a nice thing. But if you're strong enough, I don't suppose you need it very much. I still don't envy you. Living without it must not be easy."

Angel takes a moment, and takes in Ben's answer.

"Your answers... they're all very straightforward. But I didn't expect anything less. From the sound of it... it's power you're looking for. Am I right?"

The laser blast has the opposite of its intended effect, Laxin taking immediate notice of Faith and the cannon just before it fires. The projectile moves straight for the ball but stops just short of damaging it. Freezing in place just next to the ball, the energy begins to twist and contort, slowly morphing into the molten ball of destruction.

This has sped up the process, but not by much. Seeing the two approaching jobbers, Laxin lets out an annoyed grunt. From his free hand he releases a short burst of force lightning, but this was different than one what would normally consider force lightning.

B-Zoner manages to get close enough to one of the heavy infantry to swipe outward with his shovel, but if he did so he would find that the force lightning curved and changed path to knock his shovel out of the way. This would protect that particular infantry member.

As for Faith, once she maneuvers her way onto one of the HK Units the droid exclaims

"Irritated Statement: Get this organic off of my-"

The HK unit's head is twisted off, prompting another of the units to level its blaster rifle toward Faith. The droid trails her movements for a few seconds, before uttering

"Optimal Accuracy Ratio Achieved."

The droid takes a shot headed straight for one of Faith's legs, followed by another toward her shoulder. The droid was more or less trying to disable her movement rather than kill her, but as for the heavy infantry, splitting their numbers equally, they all began to fire at the jobbers.

Another of the HK droids parkours its way to the top of one of the transport ships, training its sniper blaster on B-Zoner. It doesn't fire yet, carefully trailing his movements.

The Grip - Bridge

Admiral Pola watches as Laxin lands and begins to do away with the debris, forming it into a ball. Acting as if this were entirely normal, Admiral Pola continued to bark out orders, until a voice rang out over the holo com

"Sunset Cruisers are fully charged Admiral, shall we fire at our intended target?"

"Fire one beam, we shall test their shields."

Skies of Estraole

One of the Sunset Cruisers as they had been dubbed from the fleet behind the Yamato fired its beam weapon, a blinding blue light pouring forth from the front of the cruiser and attempting to pierce through the shield and disable the Yamato's engines.

Faith uses the jet boots to shmix up the droids, suddenly dashing forwards despite her backwards momentum in order to evade the hail of blaster fire. She lands on a wall and springs off of it with a divekick to try and hit some droids into each other.

—

Unfortunately for the attempted surprise attack, the Achilles analogy was spot on. The shield flashes and bursts, but the beam fails to damage the engines before it dissipates... and the shield is already regenerating.

Edited by KiriK on Oct 11th 2021 at 12:43:11 PM

Ben looks at Angel as if she'd just admitted to secretly being one of the Nightsisters from Dathomir.

"The Sith are the ones who crave power, and I am no Sith. What makes you think that's what I desire most?"

"!"

B-Zoner is mildly displeased by his shovel being knocked off-course. Being quite based specifically based on the POV character of bogleech's Burgrr Entries, however, he spins into the motion and uses it to generate a bit more momentum, before swinging back around and trying to slam the shovel into the same target.

Regardless of the results, he soon after attempts to block the blaster fire with his shovel while running to the side. He's no super soldier, but he's fit and good enough at quick analysis to keep from being filled with holes for now.

"I dunno about that, I've eaten shit in every fight I've been in recently, hahah! Not being able to feel pain has probably kept those defeats from stinging as much as otherwise, per se, though."

He chuckles at his own pun.

"Nah, I think life's been pretty easy when I'm not looking for trouble. No pain, no gain, but I don't NEED gain. I'm just having a good time hanging out."

Edited by Rbade on Oct 11th 2021 at 10:51:06 AM

"That's good enough. Life is alright, as long as you have things to care about."

Andi nods, mostly agreeing. "Yes."

She shakes her head.

"You wish to protect the people close to you, don't you?"

She pauses.

"Why are you afraid of Laxin, Ben?"

As Faith flies toward the droids, Laxin locks his gaze to the woman, shouting with a very angered tone.

   "Your childish games end now."   

Before she could even come close to the droids with her kick, she is stopped mid-air and slammed into the hull of the ship and dragged across it toward Laxin by the force. Once she is just beneath him, she is raised into the air and brought to eye level with Laxin. The Sith's head then swivels around to B-Zoner.

The jobber is quickly able to dispatch the Infantryman before him, with the added momentum creating a pretty satisfying decapitation. As he moves about blocking blaster bolts, an immensely powerful force attempts to drag him straight toward Laxin. Regardless of its success, he then turns back to Faith.

   "Goodbye."   

In an instant, she is sent careening off of the Yamato at a violent speed. As for B-Zoner, if Laxin's pull succeded, the sith sends a devastating torrent of electrical energy straight for the jobber as he was sliding toward Laxin. If this hit him, it was more than powerful enough to send him flying off of the Yamato as well.

If it didn't work, the HK unit atop one of the troop transports would take a shot aimed straight for his head with pinpoint accuracy. However unlikely, it could still be blocked or dodged.

Ah, shit.

He struggles to break free, knowing damn well what's about to happen, and equally damned to it. The torrent of electricity does a gruesome number on him before blowing him clear from the Yamato at blistering speed. He's basically a normal human, my guy.

"Things to care about, huh? ... I guess 'vibing' counts, heh!"

"Also getting good food. Cause damn. Didn't have that shit back in Khem, that's for sure."

Edited by Rbade on Oct 11th 2021 at 11:11:39 AM

For the briefest fraction of a second, Laxin sees a man in a long coat with a weird-looking hat that blends into his hair, standing on the deck. Just as quickly, the man is gone, and both Faith and B-Zoner have disappeared mid-flight.

Oh, and also a barrage of slashes cut open the deck from underneath, blasting it open as Sin Devil Trigger Vergil◊ spares Laxin the trouble of breaking in by his own power. Down below is a corridor with him and Mega Man X standing at the ready, looking up at Laxin. There's a third in the hallway, but Laxin can't see them from any angle.

   "Come, face us. If you dare."   

Bury the Light

Ben climbs off of his speeder bike.

"What in blazes does wanting to protect those close to me have to do with desiring power? Are you saying that I'm like the Sith, that I'm similar to the likes of Darth Malgus and Exar Kun?"

He blows out a lengthy sigh.

"As for why I fear Laxin... well, you were there when he completely razed that city. The Force Storm he conjured was like nothing I've ever seen before. He defeated Wrustoiz as easily as if he were swatting an insect. He's so strong with the dark side, only the Sith Emperor himself could possibly match him in terms of power. Even Terra, who managed to fight Laxin on equal terms before, struggled against him. When Aqua and I faced him on the bridge of his flagship, we only just escaped with our kriffing lives."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Oct 11th 2021 at 11:47:19 AM

More troops begin to pour out of the transports, many of the new arrivals wearing advanced armors◊ and wielding saber pikes in tandem with blaster pistols. Laxin prepares to drop the meteor until the brief image of the man appears atop the hull.

In response, the tiniest fraction of the meteor he had formed above shot downward toward where the image had appeared tearing a small hole through the hull. This reaction was practically instant, before the holes in the hull had even appeared. Once Vergil had blasted open the hull, Laxin meets his gaze. He may not be able to see the third, but he can certainly sense him.

The meteor he had formed above them violently explodes outward, releasing all of the pent-up energy in a thunderous shockwave across the sky. Laxin's senses stretch outward, attempting to pierce through the entirety of the ship and sense every living being aboard. More specifically, those of note, and their whereabouts.

With supreme confidence, Laxin drops into the ship from the hole. Putting Laxin between them and what would certainly be their death, the boarding party begins to leap into the hole behind Laxin. The soldiers and droids clutter up the hallway, trying to get through any doors they can.

As for Laxin, he engages in a stare-down with the pair of fighters. He casually looks behind them, seeing no one. A smug look develops beneath his helmet,

   "I know you have another to face me with you, but he is nowhere to be seen. Where is he hiding?"   

He draws his lightsaber, igniting the crimson crossguard. He briefly observes his surroundings, taking note of exactly how much room he has to work with here. Widening his stance, and raising his lightsaber defensively toward Mega Man X and Vergil, he waits for their first blow.

Lillie shrugs half-heartedly. "Vibing... um... I'm not sure what that means, but if it's good enough?"

"I like food."

Angel shakes her head... again.

"I'm saying the opposite, actually. That you're nothing like them at all. I am only saying... that desiring power, and using it, those are not bad things. Someone very close to me once said... that power depends on the heart of it's wielder. I extend that lesson to you. Don't be afraid of power, power is only as bad as the person who wields it. Even the dark side, as chaotic and ultimately corrupting as it is, can still do good in the hands of the right person. I don't recommend you stress test that- that's just inviting disaster to your front door and then complaining when it levels your house- but my point still stands.

She nods to herself. "Your fear. It is completely rational. Laxin is a scary person- not as scary as me- but pretty scary. Don't run away from that fear. Cower, and cry, and let yourself fall apart under it- when nobody is looking, and nothing can really hurt you. Because fear is nothing unless there is someone or something looking to exploit it. Release your fear and sadness and all of those... negative emotions, in a controlled environment, and you may soon find that they press on you much less when control is much more important. The dark side... it does not crawl and beg for you to use it, it sits by and allures you with the simple draw of power and ease of use. If you're worried about the dark side in those vulnerable moments- don't be. Everyone has to be weak sometimes."

Angel takes a deep breath.

"If this isn't something that particularly applies to you, keep it as... general life advice, not just for weird force stuff. If you find an artifact of tremendous power, check for weird curses and then use it. If you feel like breaking down and nobody's around to hurt you- then break down all you like."

...

...How does she... know all that?

Ben remains silent as he takes in everything Angel says, noticeably hanging onto her every word. Once she finishes talking, he lets out a deep breath.

"By the Force... If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were some kind of Jedi Master yourself. Because every word of what you just said... was right. Why, even Grandmaster Shan herself would be be impressed by such wisdom."

He walks over to Angel, offering her a smile.

"Thank you for telling me all of this, Angel. I honestly needed to hear it. And rest assured, I'll keep your words in mind should I ever have nightmares about Laxin again, or whenever find myself overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty."

Angel scratches her head. "I try my best. It... comes from experience. A very long time ago, I was desperately afraid of my own power. So concerned about hurting the people around me... that I neglected to use my strength in any decisive fashion, and just lead to more people being hurt in the long run. That part of my life shaped me, even to this day. So I wanted to make sure- that you weren't afraid. I can't sense the force, but I feel strength in you, Ben. Strength yet untapped, strength that... when the time comes, I don't want you to run away from."

Angel does a little twirl. "That's why I came to you right now. Cause sometimes you see the potential danger of an eerie reflection of a version of yourself you no longer are and endeavor to make sure that person doesn't wind up sharing something similar to your personal traumas. And sure, sometimes it opens its own can of entirely different worms, but I personally think it's worth it most of the time. If you ever, like, turn super evil, I'll do you a favor and show you why that's a bad idea."

Angel then jumps, as if realizing something.

"Oh yeah! There was something I wanted to give you, too."

She holds out a strange, semi-transparent blue cylinder, like the handle of a weapon taken off and given a second tip.

"This... does nothing. I borrowed it from a friend of a friend. But in the darkest moment, under the greatest of shadow, when terror fills the hearts of the plenty and there are no ways back into the light... it will show you the way. Don't put it near mint plants they don't like it very much."

Kali 'Wonder Girl' Holiday

"Alright..... where's the nearest games shop..." The Roush driver mumbled at Katarina, in relief because The Arena has buildings that there is no owners so she could need a apartment right now yet she kinda need to be neighbors with the magic academy student right now yet she does think that Katarina is not only attractive but has a bright personality and a obsession on visual novels. She removed her jacket because she could carry it around as she also need to find new clothes once she settles in The Arena, putting on her headphones to play Rewrite The Stars just to have her relaxed a bit in order to be nice towards Katarina. She looked at her a bit worried because she could leave her alone right now but she decided to gave her jacket to the magic academy student, giving her a smile that is boyish yet kind at the same time.

"Here, in case it gets cold around here." She said, having that monochrome mind right now because she thinks of the surroundings around her as black and white but someone like Katarina could change the color of her mind.

Luffy hugs back, already wondering how he's gonna reach out across dimensions to get them... Heh, he'll improvise!

Shishishis! Anything for my buds!

Ben accepts the cylinder, taking a moment to study it as he would a Jedi artifact.

"This doesn't look like any holocron I've ever seen before... Whatever it might be, though, I suspect we're probably going to need it soon. Especially once the Empire decides to go on the warpath again."

He hangs it from his belt near his lightsaber, then offers Angel a reassuring smile.

"If what you say is true - and fortunately, I have no reason to believe it isn't - and I do have this untapped strength within me, I give you my word that I'll not retreat from it. Even if I do, I trust you and the others to bring me back to my senses. Just like I trust that you'll all do everything in your power to pull me back to the light, should I ever succumb to the dark side."

Then he places a hand on her shoulder.

"And I'm sorry for assuming that you were comparing me to the Sith."

General works

Angela nods, before saying "Interesting. Abilities such as yours are usually Reserved to those with EGO, something rather complex, in our world, or those with augmentations. However, with that out of the way, You are allowed to claim your rapier and any books you may need, leaving a list of such in the lobby. Thank you for your time."

Roland shuts up as of being interrupted.

Laxin senses the following lifeforms:

• Faith, human (somehow alive)
• B-Zoner, human (also somehow alive)
• Vergil, an almost Sith-esque presence that isn't quite the Dark Side but is still full of malevolent energy
• Unseen person in the hallway, human?
• Unidentified nonhuman lifeform
• A lifeform beneath the bridge tower that almost gives off a rakghoul-esque aura
• Unidentified human, accompanied by a presence that will brain-blast Laxin almost as hard as the Sith that tried probing Angel if he looks any deeper than the surface
• Various unidentified humans and alien species

As well as two inorganic but sapient entities, one of which is Mega Man X and the other of which... he simply can't sense anything about it, other than that it is an artificial sophont. All other knowledge is beyond his sight.

The answer to Laxin's question comes in the form of a voice behind him humming the Ghostbusters theme song a capella. Exactly like when he got the drop on Zod, a spiritually super-empowered Dr. McNinja◊ rushes at Laxin, striking with a katana ablaze with golden soulfire.

Meanwhile, Vergil sheathes Yamato before quickly flashing the blade, sending a storm of slashes - his signature Judgement Cut - to slice and dice Laxin's soldiers, while Mega Man X also attacks them with a few Charged Shots.